Never has the need for technology been more keenly felt than during the COVID-19 pandemic. With so many people forced to stay at home, the power contained within the devices at our fingertips has become a vital extension of our lives.

Smartphones have been an invaluable tool as apps and services were rapidly adapted to help people deal with the crisis, whether that entails enabling us to order groceries or food online or making more use of contactless payment systems.

According to a recent international survey, demand for online delivery surged more than 30 per cent in the first week that governments announced measures ordering people to stay home, and more than 80 per cent in the following weeks. We have seen this in Malta as well, with restaurants and traditional retail outlets promptly offering home delivery services.

Social distancing also led to a spike in video calling, with huge percentage rises being reported across several platforms. These facilities have not just been used in the workplace, but also in schools, social chats and in the performing arts. The manifestation of talent being streamed straight into the palm of our hand has indeed been a comfort for many and has been part of home entertainment boosting as well.

We have also become keener on talking to one another, more readily dialling the number of a loved one or a friend with whom we had not recently been in contact to check on how they are doing. Telecommunications companies like Vodafone Malta have taken various initiatives to facilitate this contact – such as supplying free mobile data to COVID-19 frontline workers – because we recognised we had a role to play.

This crisis has shown how vital telecommunication services are for consumers and businesses

The question on everyone’s lips is: since we have all discovered this new world, this new way of communicating, is there any turning back? Will we return to frantically battling traffic to get to a meeting or do our shopping? Will we ever return to how we were before the COVID-19 pandemic or take the positive elements we have learned and apply them to our future conduct once the situation returns to normal?

Writing in Forbes magazine, Enrique Dans, senior adviser for digital transformation at IE University, advocated taking advantage of COVID-19 to become more comfortable with technology.

Companies, several of which have been hit hard by the financial challenges presented by this pandemic, also have decisions to make. Can we remain the same in a post-COVID scenario? Can we make better use of technology? Can we take steps that better insulate us when the next crisis hits? These are fundamental issues for organisations going forward.

This crisis has shown how vital telecommunication services are for consumers and businesses. This is an acceleration of trends in digital services and communication and I believe this trend is not going to change. Therefore, our industry needs to step up to the challenge of increased demand for high quality communication services which requires further investment in infrastructure and innovation. This means we can no longer remain as we are. 

We at Vodafone Malta are committed to this change by driving network investment and innovation to facilitate people’s lives, to connect Malta for a better future. We believe we have a role to play to be a catalyst to improve the quality of service available in fixed services as well for consumers and businesses. We are committed to accelerating our journey to become a total telecommunication company for all customer segments – investing more into fixed infrastructure and other innovative services – and reshaping our company to be able to do that.

This approach will not just get us through the COVID-19 situation but provide us with a solid foundation for the future. No honest CEO will tell you that the past months have not been an extremely challenging time. But what’s important is that we channel our collective energies to ultimately make it a positive one and ensure that Malta is equipped with the technology it needs as we move forward to the next phase of our lives.

Tamas Banyai, CEO, Vodafone Malta

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